🎯 Work Smart Wednesday - January 3, 2024
Why I use process-based goals: how to set goals that will actually work, the video that made me passionate about productivity, and a quote on following your dreams
Work Smart Wednesday
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In these emails I will share with you 3 things to help you work smarter in 3 minutes or less. That leaves you with 10,077 more minutes to conquer your goals this week
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1. 🎯 How to set goals that actually work
It is that time of year again where we set goals with the greatest of intentions, but which most of us then swiftly abandon or forget.
There is a very simple, small, tweak I make to how I set goals to help ensure that they actually work and that I actually stick to them.
The secret: Process-based goals.
Most goals suck for the same reason - the goal is outside of the person’s locus of control.
If I had a goal like: “Get 1,000 new followers a week” I’d be in trouble.
I have absolutely no control over whether or not somebody chooses to follow me.
However, I do have control over certain inputs that I am fairly sure will lead to people following me.
Instead, my goal is simple: “Post 3 times per week.”
If I do that I win. The followers will take care of themselves.
When you focus on the process, not the outcome, you focus on what you can control.
Implement the basics, like SMART goalsetting, but make sure you goals this year are processed-based. You will achieve much more, much more easily.
p.s. If you think last year was a failure, watch this short video.
2. ⏳ How (and why) I remind myself that life is short
I strongly believe that truly learning how little time we have is the most valuable lesson you can learn in your life.
Understanding your time helps you appreciate what has been, and to strive for what could be.
Unfortunately, most people don’t learn that lesson until it is too late in one way or another - either because they themselves have reached life’s end, or because they have lost somebody dear to them.
Learning the time lesson is often not enough. People forget. It is difficult to internalise how finite our time is. I make it a mission to regularly remind myself of the realities of time.
While posts from others, graphs about time, and even a speech I gave are useful reminders, one of my favourite reminders is the shortest: a video about Jellybeans.
You can find it below:
3. 💡 Quote I'm pondering
“I have a young friend who dreams of becoming a novelist, but he never seems to be able to complete his work.
According to him, his job keeps him too busy, and he can never find enough time to write novels, and that’s why he can’t complete work and enter it for writing awards.
But is that the real reason? No!
It’s actually that he wants to leave the possibility of “I can do it if I try” open, by not committing to anything.
He doesn’t want to expose his work to criticism, and he certainly doesn’t want to face the reality that he might produce an inferior piece of writing and face rejection. He wants to live inside that realm of possibilities, where he can say that he could do it if he only had the time, or that he could write if he just had the proper environment, and that he really does have the talent for it.
In another five or ten years, he will probably start using another excuses like “I’m not young anymore” or “I’ve got a family to think about now.” - An excerpt from The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga
Click here to share this (shortened) quote on Twitter
Everybody experiences fear of failure - and/or rationalised paralysis - I am no exception. I do find that I also occasionally go through great lengths to internally rationalise why something cannot or should not be done now, even if it really should be.
I often ask myself, what am I putting off?
Often, the things I am putting off are the things I most need to do.
That's it! I can't wait to hear what you think. What did you find most useful? What do you want more or less of? Reply to this email now and let me know
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Have a great week,
John
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> he wants to leave the possibility of “I can do it if I try” open, by not committing to anything.
Personally, I'm taking a huge risk this year (which means my partner is too) by going all-in on solopreneurship once again.
I'd regret not trying.